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The Legacy of Les Paul Lives on as Mahwah Exhibit Pays Tribute to Town's Longtime Legendary Resident
by Rich and Laura Lynch
Lester William Polsfuss aka Les Paul is synonymous with the solid bodied guitars that bear his name. Les who was born in 1915 was also an ingenious inventor. Paul is credited with revolutionizing recording techniques. Some of his many innovations include close miking, echo delay, multi-tracking and overdubbing.
This banner in Mahwah honors the late, great Les Paul in his longtime hometown.
Mr. Paul was also a successful jazz-pop musician. Les along with his wife and singer Mary Ford had a number of hit records. Both "How High the Moon (1951) and "Vaya Con Dios" (1953) reached number one on the charts. Although he was considered a jazz player, many called Les Paul the father of rock and roll. His recording methods and his signature guitars that were designed to amplify sound without distortion paved the way for rock music.
Les Paul remained active throughout his entire life. Since 1952 until 2009, he had an invention workshop at his home in Mahwah, New Jersey. In 2005, at age 90, he recorded and released American Made/World Played. The album featured Les jamming with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Sam Cooke and Joss Stone among others and brought home two Grammy Awards.
In 2008, his most recent Gibson Les Paul guitar was released with "a new asymmetrical neck and profile making it one of the most comfortable and playable necks offered on any guitar." Mr. Paul also performed weekly at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City - stopping only a few weeks before his death in August of 2009.
In September of 2011, "The Les Paul in Mahwah Museum Exhibit" premiered at the Mahwah Museum located at 201 Franklin Turnpike. The exhibit is open every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. The display of Mr. Paul's career - centered around his life in the northern New Jersey town - is scheduled to remain at the museum through June of 2012.
The exhibit is filled with personal items from Les' home. Looking at the timeline of his life we learned about many of his achievements and innovations. There were quotes from other musicians stating how important Mr. Paul was to them and to the history of rock and roll.
The exhibit has guitars, gear and a replica of Paul's workshop. The tools in that display are the ones that Les actually used. Also, on site is a rare lathe, which was a machine that Les utilized in the early days to cut acetate records. We read that you can not make a mistake with a lathe and Les went through over 500 disks to record "Lover." There are also videos that give additional information about the man, his music and his muse.
The town of Mahwah has many restaurants and the Ramapo Reservation State Park on Ramapo Valley Road is nearby. Therefore, one can plan a full day around going to "The Les Paul in Mahwah Museum Exhibit."
A town wide celebration is scheduled for June 9th, 2012 on what would have been Les Paul's 97th birthday. The event will be at the Trustees Pavilion at Ramapo College . Musical entertainment featuring Lou Pallo who played with Les for many years are part of the festivities. There will also be food including birthday cake and a raffle ($25.00) to win one of two guitars signed by Les Paul. For more information about the exhibit or the party go to www.mahwahmuseum.org.
The legacy of Les Paul lives on through his music, his engineering and those unmistakable Les Paul guitars - an instrument favored by so many great musicians in blues and rock. Thank you Les and long live rock!
Related Links:
For more information on LES PAUL and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -
Les Paul Foundation |
Les Paul Online |
Mahwah Museum
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